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The firefighters put on their headphones, fastened their seatbelts, turned on their lights and sirens, and peeled out of the garage towards the narrow, steep road. With notepads and video cameras in tow, reporters were getting a feel for what it was like to ride in a fire truck during the massive fire that devastated the Oakland Hills 20 years ago.
Since Occupy Wall Street protests began nearly one month ago in New York, similar actions have erupted across dozens of US cities, including Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. Since 4 p.m. Monday, nearly 100 Oakland residents have built a tent city on Ogawa Plaza’s grass field.
A coalition of Oakland residents is pushing for an initiative that would impose term limits on the city council. Under the proposal, councilmembers could serve up to three four-year terms and then would be forced to step down, which proponents say would help add new voices to the city council and thus improve policy making on crime, budget deficit and other pressing issues in the city.
Touted by locals as the center of the medical marijuana industry, Oakland seems a fitting host for the nation’s first marijuana outdoor street festival: the two-day International Cannabis and Hemp Expo, which opened its doors Saturday.
The Oakland History Room’s exhibit will display items related to the fire on the second floor of Oakland’s Main Library from September 1 to November 30. The exhibit includes aerial maps of Oakland before and after the fire and public records related to the firestorm.
In October, The Oakland Museum of California will be displaying photos taken by Richard Misrach of the 1991 Oakland hills fire.
The Oakland City Council’s Public Safety Committee passed an ordinance by consensus Tuesday evening that will double the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, if approved by the city council.
On Tuesday, BART settled a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the mother of Oscar Grant for $1.3 million. Grant was shot and killed by former BART officer Johannes Mehserle on a train platform New Year’s Day 2009.
On Sunday, the Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant met at Humanist Hall in Oakland to share ideas for advancing their overarching goal of preventing police abuse in their communities, and to discuss the group’s successes and failures.